FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING

REQUIRED:
Write a report in which you analyse a company listed on the NZ stock exchange (NZX). Write as if you are an investment analyst offering a recommendation to an interested person.
The company you will use will be allocated in workshops.
You must use the template provided.
Your report will include the following:
• Introduction
o To the company.
• Discussion
o Financial Performance
o Value
o Capital Markets and Market Commentary
o Non-Financial Reporting
• Recommendation
• References
• Appendices, including graph prepared using Excel
Support your discussion with references to appropriate secondary literature sources. Provide in-text citations and a reference list. Use APA 6th edition style for referencing. http://aut.ac.nz.libguides.com/APA6th - the library guide can help you with this. Videos on APA referencing and paraphrasing are also available in Blackboard in the Assessment tab.

Template for Assessment 4
Delete all information in red italics before submitting the report.

Title Page (be as creative as you like!)
o Include Student Name and ID, also in header or footer
o Name of company investigated
o Date of submission
o Word count: 1,000 words from the beginning of Introduction to end of Conclusions and Recommendations
Table of Contents (use Word to create this – new page required)
Introduction
• Introduce the company being investigated with a brief background
Write in the 3rd person
150 WORDS
Discussion
• Financial Performance
o Outline the basic ratio used to assess financial performance, and provide an analysis of your selected company’s performance
 Refer to the appendix where you have obtained the ratios, and your graph. (The graph can also be shown in the main body of your report)
 Briefly comment on the trends shown by the ratios, and in the graph
o Make a conclusion about your company’s financial performance
o 150 WORDS

• Value
o Discuss how price is determined by comparing the market value (capitalisation) of the company to its book value of total equity (also called net assets) using the Market-to-Book ratio
 Refer to the appendix where you have obtained the ratios
o 150 words

• Capital Markets and Market Commentary
o Discuss the performance of this company (since listing or the last 5 years).
 Refer to the appendix with your share price graph (The graph can also be shown in the main body of your report)
o Detail any events that may have had an impact on its performance (either positive or negative) and state how this impacts your investment recommendation.
o 300 words

• Non-Financial Reporting
o Detail the non-financial information disclosed by the company.
o State how this information affects your decision.
o 150 words

Conclusions & Recommendation
• Make a recommendation to the prospective investor
o You can recommend to buy shares, or not to buy shares in the company being investigated
o Your recommendation must clearly flow from the discussion and conclusions
• 100 WORDS

 
References
• New page required for References
• This title should be centred on the page
• Use APA 6th edition referencing
• The following should be included in your reference list, if cited
o Textbook, for definitions, if required
o NZX.com
o NZX company research database
o Annual report of the company
o Website of the company
o Any newspaper articles used

Craig, G., & Scott, A. (Ed.). (2019). BUSS503 Financial Decision Making for AUT University (Custom e-textbook). Sydney, Australia: Wiley. Custom publication for Faculty of Business, Economics & Law, Auckland University of Technology.
NZX company research. (n.d.). Brokers Forecasts - Hallenstein Glassons. Retrieved from NZX Company research: http://companyresearch.nzx.com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/deep_ar/newpage.php?pageid=fcst&default=HLG

 
Appendices
• New page required for Appendices – should always be after References section
• The following should be included in the appendices (see Appendix template following):
o Appendix A
 Profitability graph prepared using Excel
o Appendix B
 ROE ratio
 Market to book ratio
o Appendix C
 Share price graph
• Ensure that you reference sources used to obtain this information

Appendix A – Profitability graph
Example of graph, using Michael Hill International Ltd

(NZX company research, n.d.)

 
Appendix B - Ratios
Example of ratios, using Michael Hill International Ltd

2018    2017    2016

ROE Ratio 17.79% 16.8% 10.47%

(NZX company research, n.d.)

Market to Book Ratio

Market Price (date) $0.59 (21st May, 2019)
Market Capitalisation $228,772,500
Total Equity 200,886,000

Market to Book Ratio = Market Capitalisation/Total Equity
= 1.14 times

(NZX company research, n.d.)
 
Appendix C – Share price graph

Example of graph (using MHI information)

(NZX company research, n.d.)